Konstantin: The Heartless Beta novel Chapter 16

Konstantin

“So, what made you decide to come back in here?” I finally ask Kai when we walk the path to the mansion. I know how the guilt ate at him after what happened, so seeing him here is a shock in itself.

He shrugs and exhales. “It was time, wouldn’t you say?” He says, looking up at the place we used to call home. “Caterina is about to have my child; we need a base of support from the entire pack instead of living right in the middle of New York away from everyone.”

I understand this; as amazing as our penthouses are, it's not exactly a perfect place to raise children. At least here, they’ll be able to shift and run around as they please.

“But how the fuck did you flip that switch so easily? You hated the place,” I say.

Kai shakes his head and chuckles. “I never hated our home, Kon, just what I did in it. Speaking to mother after Xamnir killed me helped a lot more than I thought.”

I nod; he did mention seeing my dead brother and mother after the werewolf god killed him a few months ago. When I died, all I saw was darkness - not even my wolf waited for me. I suppose Kai had a lot more to lose than I did.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back here, brother,” I say, slapping his back as we come to a stop on the back porch. “We were worried about you, but it seems your mate helped with your healing.”

Jealousy has me in its grips as I see the smile on his face at my words. It’s not like I am not happy for Kai, the complete opposite actually. He only found his mate after almost sixteen years, and he had to go into enemy territory to claim her. If anyone deserved to be happy, it’s him.

But I want to feel that pride I see on his face; I want my mate to look at me with love like Caterina looks at him. I want her in my arms again. I want to keep her safe and away from harm.

I fucked up. I fucked up so much, and now the worst possible thing has happened.

“Konstantin,” I look up at my brother and frown; he rarely calls me by my full name. “We will get Lilith back; I promise not only on my life but as your Alpha. We will get her back and rip those responsible to shreds for what they’ve done to her.” He growls, those double crimson irises back yet again.

As much as his words calm me down some, I can’t help but take a step back at the intimidation in his scent.

“Kai, what the fuck…?” I ask even as fear grips my heart. “Why are your… are you still a Lycan?!”

As far as I know, his Lycan died when the Moon Goddess resurrected him. Tiarin replaced Xamnir’s gifts with her own, but then again, he did eat Xamnir’s heart. So what else is he hiding?

He blinks, and his irises meld back into one, then he shakes his head and leans against the pillar by the back door. “Don’t… don’t tell Caterina,” he says through our shared link. “I’ve been struggling with my twin beasts, and the Lycan seems to be dominant.”

I can see him visibly sweating as he tries to control his breathing, then he extends his claws and embeds them in his upper thigh. My eyes widen at this, but I don’t interfere because I do the exact same thing to control my anger - only with my claws in my palms.

He levels out his breathing, then his blue eyes are back, and he offers me an apologetic smile.

“Wait, how long have you been struggling with this?” I ask, approaching him again, but tentatively.

“When Caterina has entered the last stages of her pregnancy. The Witches have informed us that since the child is not simply a wolf and Caterina and I are the reincarnations of our Wolf Gods, we should expect her to give birth within the next two weeks.” He says, flooring me.

“Wait, so your children only have a gestation period of two months?!”

Kai nods. “As your average wolf does, I suppose; we are more in tune with our base instincts. But I do think my beasts are reacting to being over protective of their mate since she’s so close to giving birth. Caterina is a hybrid as well, remember?”

“I get it,” I say, letting out a sigh. “But I think you need to tell her about this, Kai. You don’t know how it could affect her during her birth process. What if your Lycan decides the child isn’t worthy and does what Fenriz did to his wives?”

My brother has me up against the wall with his hand around my throat before I can even react. His double irises are back, and the intimidation in his scent would have had me kneeling in submission if he weren’t holding me up right now.

“I would NEVER do anything to put my mate in harms’ way, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!” He growls. I can see the muscles in his neck start to bulge along with the throbbing at his temple.

I claw at his hand, feeling myself growing faint because of his grip. “Kai… Kai, stop it…!” I croak while calling out to him over the link as well. I’m losing further consciousness as I feel him grow angrier, his claws embedding into my throat.

Then I get tossed to the side and land on my back.